Latest news with #Ridiculousness
Fox News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Happy Hour: How Snooki and Kennedy Changed MTV
When you mention MTV, there are two types of people: those who like the music and those who enjoy reality television (and a very select few who only know the channel for its endless reruns of Ridiculousness) . Yet, whichever category you fall into, there is one household name that brings all of those people together: Snooki! Reality star and businesswoman Nicole Polizzi (aka Snooki) joins Kennedy for Happy Hour this week to discuss her 'Messy Mawma' wine, what it was like to be a part of MTV's reality renaissance, and how she balances her work with family. Follow Kennedy on Twitter: @KennedyNation Kennedy Now Available on YouTube: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
L.A. Woman: Alahna Jade Shares her Vision for her Hollywood Hotspot, Linden
Lately, there's been an exciting emergence of Black-owned hospitality ventures in L.A. — with Linden leading the Jade and her fiancé, Sterling 'Steelo' Brim — best known for his longtime role as host of MTV comedy clip staple Ridiculousness — joined forces with New York restaurateurs Vincent Bryant and Scott Williams (behind the Lower East Side's Las' Lap) to create this inviting and effortlessly cool new food destination in the heart of Hollywood that evokes the culture and backgrounds of its owners.'Being Black and being in Hollywood, there's a lot of spaces that are welcoming of us but don't necessarily put us at the forefront,' Jade says. 'I think being able to create a space for people who look like us in that location … there's a different sort of love that you get. It was important for us to create this space because the Black dollar is big, and it goes a long way, and being able to regenerate that back into our community is really important to us.' Also meaningful to Jade and her partners is helping fellow Angelenos when they can. Linden donated $20,000 to the California Community Foundation's Wildfire Recovery Fund in Los Angeles as well as 20 percent of their January proceeds to the cause — which surely made an impact, because the place is visibly packed every night. And for good by New York's multicultural Linden Boulevard, Costa Rican and African-American chef Jonathan Harris' dishes nod to soul food and the Caribbean yet taste universal and innovative. His creations — from crispy duck fat fries and fried chicken to the perfect burger smothered in garlic lemon aioli — are rich in flavor, and portions are input into the space has been significant. She says her partners sought her opinion on everything, from the (Black) art on the walls to the choices of decor and the vibe in the main room and adjacent speakeasy called Dot. The Montana native, who began working in food when she was younger and later shifted to marketing and PR, knows how to garner attention and create excitement for the restaurant — which delivers on the buzz. 'It's been a team effort, but I definitely took lead on decor and things they felt needed a woman's touch,' she says. 'I'm really grateful to my fiancé, because I think that was something that he was really passionate about — not being another all-male-led business. He really gave me that platform and believed in me.'And she knows how rare that is: 'There's not a lot of women in hospitality and I don't think women get a lot of opportunities,' Jade says. 'So I am really blessed.' "The Black dollar is big, and it goes a long way, and being able to regenerate that back into our community is really important to us.'
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Devo founding member makes $1M from this '73 single each year. Here's how
Even those who are not familiar with the energy-dome-wearing, synchronized dancing and anti-capitalizing New Wave band Devo, have likely heard the catchy lyrics of the band's most popular single, "Whip It." The song, which encourages listeners to "whip it good," hung on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 25 consecutive weeks in 1980. Despite the single's widespread success, it's another song from the band that rakes in high-dollar figures. Released on Devo's first album in 1973, "Uncontrollable Urge," known for its energic opening refrain, "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" makes founding Devo member Mark Mothersbaugh around $1 million in royalties each year, Anita Greenspan, Motherbaugh's wife and manager told Rolling Stone. "Uncontrollable Urge" boasts 30 million streams on Spotify − compared to the 175 million streams of "Whip It." Artists make anywhere between $0.003-$0.005 per stream on Spotify, according to multiple media reports, so looking at the high end of this spectrum, "Uncontrollable Urge" has likely made around $154,000 from the streaming platform. But that's only a fraction of $1 million. "Uncontrollable Urge" became a moneymaker after it was selected as the theme song for MTV's television series "Ridiculousness," hosted by Rob Dyrdek. The comedy series, which debuted in 2011, features more than 1,500 episodes over 40-plus seasons, and new episodes continue to be released each Wednesday night, according to IMDb. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. The episode count alone is a feat, but it's the reruns that have resulted in such large paychecks. Rolling Stone reported that the show may be aired on MTV as much as 14 hours a day and amid the pandemic, Variety reported that during its peak, the show was aired 113 hours of MTV's 168-hour lineup. Greenspan Kohan, the company that manages Mothersbaugh, did not immediately respond when contacted by USA TODAY, and MTV was unable to confirm why "Uncontrollable Urge" was chosen as the theme song for "Ridiculousness." An unexpected feat In addition to his role as a founding member of Devo, Mothersbaugh is an accomplished, award-winning composer. He composed the theme songs for "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" and "Rugrats," in addition to the scores for countless television shows, movies and video games, from Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums" and Netflix's pandemic hit "Tiger King" to animated series like Cartoon Network's "Regular Show." 'I've written so many other songs for films and television shows. I would've been shocked (years ago) if you told me this is the one that would become this prime source of income," Mothersbaugh told Rolling Stone of "Uncontrollable Urge." The MTV irony When MTV launched in 1981, not many artists were producing music videos to accompany their hit singles. Devo was one of the few thinking ahead, releasing several videos in the late 1970s. For this reason, Devo's music videos were played regularly on MTV for the television channel's first few years. But as time went on, Devo continued to push what was socially acceptable in their music and videos and MTV wasn't a fan. Evie Nagy, author of the "Devo's Freedom of Choice," said when she interviewed Gerald Casales, own of the band's founding members, he said one of the turning points was the music video for "That's Good," released in 1982. In several instances throughout a video, an animation of a French fry goes inside the hole of a doughnut. "MTV stopped playing their stuff. They thought it was too suggestive, too controversial, and that, at the time, was very frustrating for Devo because MTV had relied on them so much for material, and then as soon as more people started making videos, they suddenly got all puritanical about it and decided to not play their stuff anymore," Nagy told USA TODAY. "It's a very fraught relationship, so the fact that this song ('Uncontrollable Urge') earns Mark Mothersbaugh more than even 'Whip It,' or any other single that they ever put out, is kind of hysterical." MTV did not comment on the channel's relationship with Devo when contacted by USA TODAY. Who is Devo? Founded in 1973, Devo hails from the midsize town of Akron, Ohio. The band's original lineup featured Motherbaugh, his brother Bob, Casales and his brother Bob, and Alan Myers. Today, the band is made up of the Motherbaughs brothers, Gerald, John Freese and Josh Hager. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
